US Stocks Rise in Midday Trading

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than five-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 rose two-tenths of one percent and the NASDAQ was up four-tenths of a percent.

European stock markets were lower at the close of trading.

London's Financial Times index lost more than one-third of one percent to end at 6,003. The CAC-40 in Paris moved down more than four-tenths of one percent to finish at 3,961 and the DAX index in Frankfurt slid more than one-tenth of a percent to close at 7,431.

Earlier Wednesday in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained more than one percent to finish at 10,082. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost just over one percent to finish the day's trading at 22,518.